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6/15/11

When I'll fly to Seattle in September to visit my family, I'm nearly a 100% sure there will be a large pot of borscht in the refrigerator.

What can I say? Growing up in Russia, we ate a lot of beets, and I've always loved them. In salads, soups, or simply roasted, not only do they have a vibrant deep purplish/pinkish color, but they have a natural sweetness to them that pairs so well with many other ingredients.

I've been lucky to grow up in the family where everyone cooks. I know I've mentioned it several times on this blog, but it's not a bad thing to repeat for my new readers. Both my parents, my grandmother and my dad's parents have always been home cooks, and rarely used a cookbook. That's how I cook now too.

But back to borscht. This Russian beet soup, which also typically consists of cabbage, potatoes and carrots, is definitely my dad's specialty. Even my grandma, his mother in law, claims that his version is better than my mom's. Can you get higher praise than that?

My dad's version of borscht varies every time he makes it depending on the season, ingredients available, and what he feels like adding or leaving out. When I got together with my friend Wendy this past weekend, she asked if we could make borscht. I called my dad, asked him to give me a basic run down of the recipe, and we started cooking.

This particular version has carrots, onions, garlic, beets, potatoes, cabbage, tomato paste, sugar, lemon juice, dill and parsley stems and is served with sour cream and dill. My dad also adds celery, red peppers, sometimes zucchini, and root of the parsley plant. You do what you want when you make your soup: feel free to use chicken or beef broth and even include shredded chicken or beef in the final dish.

{According to @katenthekitchen, these are are Chiogga Beets or Candied Stripe Beets. They are gorgeous, but because of the predominance of white color, did not result in the deep purple colored soup I was expecting.}

This soup sounds so appetizing and it is so pretty! I have actually never had borscht but I like all the ingredients so I know I will like it as well! And topped with sour cream? No one can go wrong :)

Such a pretty dish. I wish I shared your love for beets. They make for such good looking food. The rest of the dish sounds super tasty though. Maybe I'll give it a try in an attempt to curb my pickiness!

This looks really good! I've never had Borscht, but I love beets. Is it sometimes blended/pureed or amy I thinking of something different? I've never seen that type of beet, they are pretty! I bet they don't stain your hands as badly.

Here is the borscht I ate every time we went through Grand Forks BC , Russian but from the Doukhobor Sect in Canada Delicious, creamy and it really does freeze well. And yes you boil the cream with the tomatoes, and this stuff freezes beautifully.• Yield: 18-20 servings

7 quarts water

2 quarts canned tomatoes

2 cups tomato juice

2 cups onion, chopped

10 medium potatoes, peeled and halved

1/4 lb butter

1 medium beet, quartered

1 3/4 cups carrots, chopped

1 3/4 cups celery, chopped

8 cloves garlic

1 green pepper, chopped

3 tablespoons salt

18 cups cabbage, shredded

1 pint whipping cream

1 1/2 cup potatoes, diced

1 cup green onions, chopped

1 cup fresh dill, chopped

Cook tomatoes and juice in pot for 1 hour. Sauté onions lightly in 1/8 lb. butter then add 3 cups cabbage and sauté. Add water to tomatoes and bring to boil. Add beet and halved potatoes. Cook until done. Remove beet and discard. Remove potatoes and mash with butter, add 1/2 pint whipping cream. Add remaining cream to water and tomatoes in the pot.